Meaning & Analysis
A man who spends his entire working life as a domestic servant will inevitably become a beggar in his old age, having no savings, property, or alternative skills to support himself. The phrase 'young beggar' implies he is new to this state of destitution.
Insights
The Trap of Unskilled Labor
The proverb is a metaphor for any career path that offers no long-term security, equity, or transferable skills. It warns that labor without the opportunity for capital accumulation or personal advancement is a direct route to eventual poverty.
The Perils of Dependency
It symbolizes the cruel paradox of a life dedicated to service resulting in being discarded. The servingman's loyalty and labor, rather than building security, merely delay an inevitable fall, illustrating how dependency can be a precursor to abandonment.
Critique of Social Hierarchy
The proverb critiques a social structure that exploits the labor of a class of people for the comfort of others without providing a safety net. The servingman represents a disposable asset in an economic system that values youth and strength over experience and loyalty.
Early Modern Labor Conditions
Reflects the harsh socio-economic reality of the 16th and 17th centuries, where domestic servants lacked job security, pensions, or guilds. Upon becoming too old to work, they were often cast out, with their long years of loyalty counting for nothing, leaving them destitute.
A Cautionary Tale
The proverb served as a powerful cultural warning to young men. The 1607 quotation by Dekker and Webster explicitly contrasts the servingman's fate with that of an apprentice, who could aspire to become a wealthy and powerful Alderman, highlighting service as a path to social and economic ruin.
Psychology of Dependency
The proverb taps into a profound psychological fear of aging and obsolescence. It highlights the anxiety of a life lived in dependency, where one's value is purely functional and diminishes with age, leading to a loss of identity and security.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis
The proverb uses a stark antithesis between the 'old servingman' and the 'young beggar'. The contrast between 'old' (experienced in service) and 'young' (new to begging) powerfully illustrates the tragic and sudden descent from a life of employment to one of destitution.
Ellipsis
The verb 'becomes' is omitted, creating a direct and grim equation between the two states. This grammatical compression makes the proverb's warning more absolute and memorable, presenting the outcome not as a possibility but as an inevitability.
Parallelism
The parallel structure 'An old [X] a young [Y]' is a common proverbial formula that lends the statement an air of irrefutable, timeless wisdom, making the specific warning about servingmen feel like a universal law.
Transcription
Quotations
(I holde it an infallible rule, An olde).
Is this your man, Matheo? An old Seruing-man. —You may give me t'other halfe too, sir: That's the Begger.
An old Seruing-man turnes to a young beggar, whereas a young Prentice may turne to an old Alderman.
I am too old to seek out a new Master. I will not beg, because Ile crosse the proverb That runs upon old serving creatures.
Shakespeare Citations
An old cloak makes a new jerkin; a wither'd servingman a fresh tapster.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.